Easy Rustic Pumpkin Mixed Media Artwork Tutorial

Autumn is my favorite time of year.  And pumpkins are so simple and lovely. I did this whimsical little project with my kids art class last fall.  They did such a great job with it. I love how they are all a little bit different.  We painted the backgrounds with light blue and then used bubble wrap & shelf liner to create texture in the sky (using white and blue) and credit cards scraped through wet green paint to make grass. On the "Fall" banners we used stamps with permanent ink (make sure it is waterproof or it will smear when you glue it down). 

I show the rest of the process in my YouTube video here: 

Layered Vellum Leaf Rubbing - Kids Art Class

This was a super fun and easy project. The vellum layer gave it a beautiful, almost ethereal, look.

The bottom layer is plain drawing paper which was stamped with leaf-shaped stamps in dark ink colors.  The top layer is vellum which has real leaf rubbings using colored pencils.  Since they could see the leaves under the vellum they were able to carefully trace and fill in the leaves.  We also added extra leaf stamps in lighter ink colors onto the vellum.  To finish, we framed them to make the layers really show.

 

 

Pumpkin Zentangle - Kids Art Class

My kids art class started off our fall schedule with a fun pumpkin zentangle.  I showed them how to draw a simple dimensional pumpkin and how to layer them to create a grouping.  And then they were able to fill in the spaces with different patterns.  We used sharpie markers so that the ink wouldn't bleed when we added watercolors.  I showed my students how to layer colors with watercolor pencils (darker colors in the creases and along edges, lighter colors in center) and then they added water to blend.  They did such a good job with their drawings that I had several parents ask if they really drew them!  What a compliment!  They did it all on their own (what's the point in taking a class if the teacher does all the work?).  I have found that kids can do just about any project as long as you take time to break it down into easy steps. And it doesn't hurt that I have some super talented kids too!

Here is my YouTube Tutorial for this project.

Funky Pumpkins - Kid's Art Class

 We made the cutest pumpkins in art class this week!  I traced and cut out large circles (pizza pan size) onto a graphic black and white fabric. The kids sewed around the edge of the circles and then pulled the ends of the string to gather the fabric at the neck.  They then stuffed their pumpkins and tied off the opening (leaving a little space for the stem) and sewed through the bottom of the pumpkins with orange yarn to create that ribbed pumpkin look.  To finish them, I used hot glue to attach a felt piece and stick to the top.  Then we tied raffia and ribbon bows and added curled cloth-covered wire for a cute accent.  The kids were really proud of their creations.  I love how they turned out.

Ribbon Turkey Pins - After School Art

We made the cutest turkey pins in class this week.   I swiped this idea from a baby onesie I saw on Pinterest (my newest obsession). 

Here are the finished pins and my how-to photos...